If you happen to be in the vicinity of Stamford CT Tuesday night (4/27) from 6pm to 9 pm, we’d welcome you to an “advanced” social media workshop at UCONN. Here are the directions http://www.stamford.uconn.edu/visitors.htm

When we were asked by US Small Business Administration to do an “advanced” social media workshop, we thought: What is “advanced” social media anyway? Someone who has built up thousands of fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter? A brand with a You Tube video viewed by millions? A business using proprietary social networking technology, widgets and apps?

This didn’t do it. We defined it as: A business or brand that has used social media to the benefit of their bottom line; saw clear business growth, proved an ROI, communicated consistently with their customers and, as a result, has the know how, insights and understanding to do it again and again.

When we thought about in these terms, a lot of case studies came to mind. Some from business owners who happened to be our friends, colleagues and clients. We thought it would be more interesting for them to tell you what social media did for their brands. Here’s the list of brands that will be discussed:

AJ Bombers – A burger joint in Milwaukee WI

Vitamin Water – I guess you know this one

Forever Verdant – A services company for environmentally friendly living

Bloomberg Marketing/Diva Marketing – A top social media and marketing consultancy and top 20 blog according to Forbes

Real Women on Health – A health and wellness community for Baby Boomer women

HubSpot – An inbound marketing solutions company to grow traffic, leads and sales

For AJ Bombers and Diva Marketing, owners Joe Sorge and Toby Bloomberg will be live (courtesy of Skype) from Milwaukee WI and Atlanta GA. After all, it’s called social media for a reason.

If it’s nearby for you, we’d love to have you. There is a $25 fee; $35 for two. It doesn’t go to us (or the presenters) but back to the US Small Business Administration. We and they believe social media is a competitive advantage for small businesses who play a vital role in our economic recovery. And we’d rather see our administration spend money on small businesses, not big banks.

It’s our 2nd of 2 workshops at UCONN this spring. The 1st was a “beginners” workshop. What is social media for “beginners?” That’s a much easier question and that presentation is below.